Wherever the White Horse and his rider have gone, the Red and Black
horses have followed, with the GREEN Horse and his rider tagging along in the
rear with hell or the grave as his companion. DEATH and the GRAVE were
the natural results for those who refused to partake of the heresies of the
Green Horse! Death is the trademark of the GREEN HORSE --
just as death is the trademark of Islam.

by John D. Keyser

"When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living
creature saying, “Come and see.” And I looked, and behold, a PALE
[GREEN] HORSE. And
the name of him who sat on it was DEATH, and HADES followed with him. And
power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to KILL WITH SWORD, with
HUNGER, with DEATH, and by the BEAST OF THE EARTH" (Revelation 6:7-8).

The book of Revelation is of great importance in that it provides spiritual
strength and insight for YEHOVAH’s people. It highlights YEHOVAH’s interest
in the church (ecclesia) of His people and the close and loving care that Yeshua the
Messiah exercises toward them as the Shepherd of Israel. Yeshua knows exactly what
conditions prevail and what must be done. This is especially manifest in the
first three chapters of the book.

Some people view Revelation as being so highly symbolic that it cannot be
understood -- or they take little care in interpreting it to come up with fantastic
and erroneous results. But YEHOVAH God wants His people Israel to understand, and He
caused the Bible to be written to be understood and to provide guidance for
them. The KEY to understanding Revelation is the same as the key to understanding
other parts of the Bible -- YOU MUST USE THE BIBLE TO INTERPRET THE BIBLE! If
we search the Scriptures we will find in them the things used as symbolisms
in Revelation. By comparing these Scripture texts we can understand what the
Revelation symbols mean.

The apostle John was steeped in the Old Testament and draws on the rich evocative
imagery of the prophets. He knew -- as certainly as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
and Daniel knew -- that what he wrote was directly given him by YEHOVAH God and stamped
with His authority. So with this mind, let us delve into one of the most mysterious
and awesome subjects of the book of Revelation -- the Green Horse of Revelation 6!

The Horse as a Bible Symbol

To correctly understand this portion of the book of Revelation, we need to
learn the significance of the horse as a Biblical symbol. For this information
we must turn to the Old Testament; for the horse is not mentioned in the New
-- except in Revelation.

A study of the Old Testament will show that the horse is first of all the
symbol of strength, might, or force of a certain kind for
conquest and for progress. Characterized as he is by strength
combined with speed and fearlessness, the horse aptly symbolizes
that form of spiritual vitality and power that sustains, energizes and carries
forward -- despite all that opposes it. It represents a GREAT SPIRITUAL MOVEMENT,
whether good or evil. The horse especially typifies strength and courage for
conflict.

We should especially notice YEHOVAH God’s own description of the characteristics
with which He endowed the horse. Addressing Job, He said:

"Have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with
thunder? Can you frighten him like a locust? His majestic snorting
strikes terror. He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
he gallops into the clash of arms. He mocks at fear,
and is not frightened; nor does he turn back from the sword"
(Job 39:19-22).

Here YEHOVAH holds the horse up to admiration because of his strength, his
utter fearlessness, and his refusal to be turned back by any form of danger.
YEHOVAH further speaks of his irresistible determination and power
to advance in the face of armed resistance:

"He devours the distance with fierceness and rage; nor does he stand firm,
because the trumpet has sounded. At the blast of the trumpet he says, “Aha!”
He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of captains and shouting" (Job
39: 24-25).

The symbol of the horse and rider is as old as Jacob’s prophecy in Genesis
49:17:

“Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a viper by the path, that bites the
horse’s heels so that its rider shall fall backward.”

The same figure,
in a similar sense, is found in the Song of Moses when the children of Israel
reached the far side of the Red Sea:

“Then Moses and the children of Israel
sang this song to YEHOVAH, and spoke, saying: ‘I will sing to the LORD, for
He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into
the sea!’” (Exodus 15:1).

From this we get the distinct idea that the horse
represents the progress of some great enterprise backed by strong military power.
Therefore, anything that is pictured in the Bible as being carried forward by
a horse is a movement that is sustained by mighty power -- one that advances
into conflict against the opposing forces with fearlessness and with prospects
of success.

Other passages in the Bible reinforce this concept. Notice Isaiah 31:1 (note
the words, “rely on horses...because they are very strong”); Jeremiah 4:13 (”His
horses are swifter than eagles”); Jeremiah 12:5 (”how can you contend with horses?”);
Hosea 14:3 (”We will not ride on horses”) and Psalm 33:17 (”Neither shall it
deliver any by its great strength”).

When we take into consideration the significance of the horse as a Biblical
symbol -- as well as other factors -- it becomes apparent that the Red Horse
of Revelation 6, and its rider, presents a prophetic picture of the results of
the MIGHTY
SPIRITUAL INFLUENCES, agencies or powers, which were to arise and go forth to
the twelve tribes of Israel in dispersion at the beginning of the “Christian Era” -- and which were to
impart to that era those special characteristics whereby it is set apart from
all previous periods in the history of YEHOVAH's people Israel.

That our era is clearly set apart from the eras that preceded it, that
it has various characteristics which are all its own, and that its most distinctive
features are due entirely to influences which came into being at -- and immediately
after -- the death and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah, are FACTS that cannot
be denied! By common acclamation this age is known as the “Christian Era” and
its civilization is commonly termed “Christian Civilization.” Throughout the
world its system of reckoning time has the date (although incorrect) of the
birth of the Messiah for its starting-point. As a result, all men throughout
the civilized world render -- whether Christian or not -- involuntary recognition
to Yeshua the Messiah. They acknowledge (even though it is most repugnant to
them to do so) that YEHOVAH God’s doctrine has been the leading factor in shaping
the course of human affairs for the last almost 2,000 years, and that the birth
of the Messiah into this world was the beginning of an entirely new order
of things among men.

In retrospect, we cannot fail to observe that the spiritual powers or agencies
which have had the chief part in shaping the course of the affairs of YEHOVAH's
people Israel from the
dawn of this era until now, have been FOUR in number. Not only that, but a careful
examination of these powers or agencies show that they correspond respectively
-- and in the precise order in which they arose -- to the symbolical representations
of the four horses and their riders in the book of Revelation. The resemblance
is so clear in each case that it is readily seen when pointed out -- and no
twisting or manipulation of the meaning of the symbols is needed to produce
the true explanation as YEHOVAH God intended.

This unique correspondence between the broad characteristic marks of the Christian
Era and the symbolical scenarios shown under the first four seals of Revelation
is, in itself, STRONG PROOF of the correctness of the interpretation.
The agreement is too complete -- and it extends to too many details -- to be
attributed to mere chance.

The visions of these four seals represent the going forth of mighty powers
YEHOVAH God has used to shape the course of affairs throughout the entire age.
They are to reach the very height of their activities in the closing days of
this era, and show to us that the end is near -- even at the door!

The Green Horse

The word here rendered “pale” is chloros, from which the gas known
as “chlorine” is named. It is of a green color.
The word occurs in only two other places in the Book of Revelation, in both
of which it is translated “green” (see 8:7 and 9:4). In Revelation
8:7 the Greek word chloros is applied to the earth's vegetation, and in
Revelation 9:4 it refers to green things in the context of vegetation. While at
first glance the significance of the
color of the horse may not be as clear as in the other three horses, we
can get some help from the rest of the verse for the name of the
rider is plainly given -- DEATH. Moreover, Death is joined here with HELL, that
is, Hades or the grave. The rider is “Death,” and his mission is “to kill”;
and Hades -- or the grave -- is pictured as following with him to gather in,
as it were, the victims.

Since death has been busy in all parts of this world since the fall of man,
it is evident that this passage has some other significant meaning. Therefore,
“death” must here be the RESULT of some destructive spiritual influence
that has been specially active in the gospel era. From what we have learned
about the Black Horse the meaning of the GREEN Horse should not be too difficult
to ascertain.

It is a fact that Satan has the power of death (Hebrews 2:14); and we learn
from the Parable of the Tares that after the sowing of the “good seed” of the
gospel (represented by the WHITE Horse), the enemy was to come and sow tares
(a FALSE gospel) among the wheat. In explaining the parable Yeshua the Messiah
said that “the enemy” who sowed the tares “is the Devil” (Matthew 13:24, 25,
38, and 39). This was the FORCE behind the ride of the BLACK Horse.

Since the
four horses represent respectively the four spiritual agencies that have chiefly
influenced and determined the character of “Christian” civilization, and that
the first horse and rider represent the gospel of YEHOVAH God, then the Messiah’s teaching
would lead us to expect something going forth to COUNTERACT the true gospel,
something representative of some special form of Satanic activity corresponding
to the going forth of “the enemy” into the field (world) after the
Messiah and the
apostles sowed the good seed therein. This was accomplished by the ride of the
GREEN Horse.

The going forth into the world of YEHOVAH’s gospel necessitated a complete
change of tactics on the part of the “enemy.” Satan’s devices, which had served
to keep the nations in the darkness and corruption of rank paganism would serve no
longer. Other means must therefore be adopted; and the course of the
gospel must be observed and followed with something specially adapted
to counteract its influence and nullify its effects.

The effect of the
gospel is to impart LIFE; but the purpose of Satan is “TO KILL.” Those who obey
the Messiah in faith are gathered into the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God where “grace reigns
unto eternal life.” In contrast with this, DEATH is accompanied by Hell,
or the grave, into which its victims are gathered. The gospel is “the word of
TRUTH” so, by way of contrast, the Black Horse represented the most
deceptive form of "the lie" Satan would employ for his ends (II Thessalonians 2:12).
So now a completely different form
of teaching, some grotesque imitation of the gospel, a religion that
completely corrupts and perverts the true gospel
of YEHOVAH God was initiated by Satan. What could this other "gospel" be?

With the powerful
resurgence of Islam in the world today, many people are puzzled why the Bible
apparently makes no mention of a movement that holds sway over one-quarter of
the world's population. Would you be surprised to learn that the official color
of Islam is green? And is it possible that this relates in any way to the Green
Horse of Revelation 6:8? Could the Green Horse be a prophetic symbol of Islam?

Islam certainly
fits into the pattern of the previous three world movements symbolized by
YEHOVAH's true religion, strife and persecution that followed in the wake of the
true gospel message and the going forth of a corrupt and deceitful gospel
impelled by the Roman Catholic Church. Let's look at the entire prophecy about
the Green Horse: "And I looked, and behold, a PALE [GREEN] HORSE. And the name
of him who sat on it was DEATH, and HADES followed with him. And power was given
to them over A FOURTH OF THE EARTH, to KILL WITH SWORD, with HUNGER, with DEATH,
and by the BEASTS OF THE EARTH."

The Color Green

Since the color of
the horse can legitimately be translated as green, and since the official color
of Islam is green, that aspect of the prophecy certainly fits. In 1878
Littell's Living Age magazine published an article entitled, The
Green Flag of the Prophet in which the author revealed the origin of the
banner belonging to Muhammed -- founder of the Muslim religion. Muhammed's
banner was green; and it was written that Muhammed, gazing out upon a vast
panorama of fields, declared: "Nature is green, and green shall be my emblem,
for it is everlasting and universal."

Muhammed's flag
"is of green silk, with a large crescent on the top of the staff, from
which is suspended a long plume of horsehair (said to be the tail of the
prophet's favorite Arab steed), while the broad folds of the flag exhibit the
crescent and quotations from the Koran." Brewer's Dictionary
(1894) offers this description:

"The Banner of
the Prophet (Mahomet): What purports to be the actual standard of Mahomet
(Mohammed) is preserved in the Eyab Mosque of Constantinople (now Istanbul).
It is called the Sinjaqu 'sh sharif. It is made of four layers of
silk, the top-most being green, embroidered with gold. In times of
peace it is guarded in the hall of the 'noble vestment' as the dress worn by
the prophet is styled. In the same hall are preserved the sacred teeth, the
holy beard, the sacred stirrup, the sabre and bow of Mahomet."

The Islamic prophet is said to have worn a green cloak and
turban, and his writings are full of references to the color. A passage from the
Quran
describes paradise as a place where people "will wear green garments of fine
silk." One hadith,
or teaching, says, "When Allah's Apostle died, he was covered with a
Hibra Burd
which is a green square garment." As a result, you'll see green used to color the
binding of Qurans,
the domes of mosques, and, yes, campaign materials.

It is said that if
this green banner of Muhammed is ever raised above the Mosque in Istanbul, it is
a sign to the entire Muslim world that it is time to go to war against
Christians throughout the world. States Littell's 1878 article:

"The
raising of the green standard is a call which none may disobey,
without sacrificing, as the Koran calls it, all hopes of Paradise.

"It is a
summons to an anti-Christian crusade, a challenge of every believer in the
Prophet to arms; a war-signal in fact, which, like the fiery cross of
Scotland, would flash its dread command through the domain of Islam. In the
interests of humanity, however, we may hope that the 'commander of the
faithful' will never utter the dreadful word; for then indeed would the
whole soul and strength of Christendom turn against the enemy of all
civilized laws, human and divine.

"The Prophet
himself predicted that one day when his followers should number a hundred
millions -- which they do now, with twenty millions more added to it -- his
flag should fly against the advancing power of the northern races; and the
Koran, or Mohammedan Bible, says that when its silken folds are flung forth
'the earth will shake, the mountains melt into dust, the seas blaze up in
fire, and the children's hair grow white with anguish."

Green comes up a lot in Islamic history. It was the color of the flag of
the Fatimid
Caliphate, the last of the four Arab caliphates. During the crusades,
Islamic soldiers wore green to identify themselves. (Likewise, crusaders avoided
green in their coats of arms, just to be safe from friendly fire.) Some say the
banner under which Muhammed fought in the war on Mecca was green with golden
trimming. (The flag is currently locked away in the Topkapi
Palace in Istanbul, Turkey.) For centuries in Persia, only
descendants of Muhammed, known as the Sayyids, were allowed
to wear green turbans -- anyone else would be punished for it. Green was also
favored by the Ottoman Empire, which after the Tanzimat reforms
of the mid-19th century dyed its
secular flags red and its religious flags green.

In September 2006
WorldNetDaily.com reported that an influential Islamic preacher in
Gaza -- Sheik Abu Saqer -- declared that "the day will come when the GREEN FLAG
OF MUHAMMED will be raised upon the Vatican and all around the world."

This is in direct
conflict with the TRUE ensign, the flag of YEHOVAH God, Yeshua the Messiah! Six
times the book of Isaiah calls the Messiah an ensign (a banner or flag). YEHOVAH
God "will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and...they shall come with
speed swiftly" (5:26). The Messiah is the TRUE flag of YEHOVAH God, and when
they return, his presence will be infinitely more significant than the flag of
Muhammed!

Muhammed founded
Islam in Mecca, in what is now called Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is 100% Muslim,
and lives under Sharia (Muslim) law. In the Saudi flag above, we can see three
things: 1) Green background, 2) a sword, and 3) the Arabic
inscription "No god but Allah, and Muhammed is his prophet." Make no mistake
about it -- Islam has NEVER been a religion of peace. It is a religion of the
sword.

The flag of the
Muslim extremist group, Hamas, has a green banner, the crossed swords
and the Jerusalem mosque. These are the winners of the 2006 elections in the
Palestinian Authority, and are warring for the annihilation of the State of
Israel. They have completely taken control of the Gaza Strip in defiance of
their own government, led by Fatah -- another terrorist group founded by the
late Yasser Arafat.

The Hezbollah flag
has the name "Allah" in Arabic holding an automatic weapon. Syria sponsors this
group. Hezbollah is the terrorist arm of Syria -- wreaking death and destruction
in Southern Lebanon and Northern Israel.

The flag of Iran
has green for Islam, white for peace(!) and red for (are you ready for
this?) -- courage! The symmetrical inscription says, "No god but Allah!"
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, fueled by his Muslim extremist spiritual
adviser Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly sworn Iran and Islam to the
death and destruction of both Israel and the United States. He publicly pledges
to "wipe Israel off the map." In 2001 Khamenei said of Israel, "this cancerous
tumor of a state should be removed from the region." And this is the religion of
peace? Never was, never will be.

Death and the
Greatest Murder Machine in History

Muslim clerics
cynically boast that the West loves life, but that "Islam loves death." This is
consistent with John's prophecy. They teach their followers that the most
glorious path to paradise is martyrdom -- death by killing others while
performing the act of suicide. The rider of the Green Horse was Death. Islam has
become synonymous with death due to its dreaded suicide bombers. Almost daily we
hear reports of deadly suicide attacks in Israel, Iraq, Spain or London. Islam
teaches that the shedding of ones own blood in martyrdom in the name of Allah is
how they are accepted into heaven.

This is in COMPLETE CONTRAST with the
redeeming blood of the Messiah that was shed for the remittance of all sins so
that through him we are accepted into the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. Satan has
Muslim terrorists believing that when they commit an act of suicide killing they
will be rewarded with paradise when, in fact, they are immediately sent to the
grave. If not repented of, "all murderers will have their part in the lake of
fire" (Revelation 21:8). When a Muslim sacrifices his life in the name of the
FALSE GOD OF ALLAH, he is dying in his sins!

This deadly, soul-destroying lie -- in various forms -- has followed the track
of the gospel in every part of the field -- and from the days of Muhammed
until now. Wherever the WHITE Horse and his rider have gone, the RED and BLACK
Horses have followed, with the GREEN Horse and his rider tagging along in the
rear with hell or the grave as his companion. DEATH and the GRAVE were
the natural results for those who refused to partake of the heresies of the
Green Horse!

Death is the
trademark of the GREEN HORSE -- just as death is the trademark of Islam. Can
anyone question the accuracy of the prophecy when Islam today is associated
around the world with the nearly 3,000 deaths in the New York's World Trade
Center attack of 9-11-2001, and more than 8,000 subsequent Muslim bombings
around the world since that time? Where is this so-called "religion of peace"??

Writes Mike Konrad in the article,
The Greatest Murder Machine in History:

"When one thinks of mass murder,
Hitler comes to mind. If not Hitler, then Tojo, Stalin, or Mao. Credit is
given to the 20th-century totalitarians as the worst species of tyranny to
have ever arisen. However, the alarming truth is that Islam has killed more
than any of these, and may surpass all of them combined in numbers and
cruelty.

"The enormity of the slaughters of the
'religion of peace' are so far beyond comprehension that even honest
historians overlook the scale. When one looks beyond our myopic focus, Islam
is the greatest killing machine in the history of mankind, bar none.

'The Islamic conquest of India is
probably the bloodiest story in history' (Will Durant, as quoted on
Daniel Pipes site).

"Conservative estimates place the
number at 80 million dead Indians.

'According to some calculations,
the Indian (subcontinent) population decreased by 80 million between
1000 (conquest of Afghanistan) and 1525 (end of Delhi Sultanate)' (Koenrad
Elst as quoted on Daniel Pipes site).

"80 Million?! The conquistadors'
crimes pale into insignificance at that number. No wonder Hitler admired
Islam as a fighting religion. He stood in awe of Islam, whose butchery even
he did not surpass.

"Over 110 Million Blacks were killed
by Islam.

'...a minumum of 28 Million
African were enslaved in the Muslim Middle East. Since, at least, 80
percent of those captured by Muslim slave traders were calculated to
have died before reaching the slave market, it is believed that the
death toll from 1400 years of Arab and Muslim slave raids into Africa
could have been as high as 112 Millions. When added to the number of
those sold in the slave markets, the total number of African victims of
the trans-Saharan and East African slave trade could be significantly
higher than 140 Million people' (John Allembillah Azumah, author of The Legacy of Arab-Islam in Africa: A Quest for Inter-religious
Dialogue).

"Add just those two numbers alone
together, and Islam has surpassed the victims of 20th-century
totalitarianism. However, it does not end there. Add the millions who died
at the hand of Muslims in the Sudan in our lifetime.

"Much of Islamic slavery was sexual in
nature, with a preference for women. Those men who were captured were
castrated. The mulatto children of the women were often killed, which
explains why Islam was not demographically shifted towards the black race,
unlike slaves in the West, who bore children to breed a mestizo class. Add
in those dead children; and we arrive at well over 200 million" (American
Thinker website).

Although the numbers are certainly not
clear, there is no doubt they are conservative. What is obvious is that Islam is
the greatest murder machine in the history of the world -- bar none -- with the
total more than likely exceeding 250 million dead. "Possibly one-third to
one-half or more of all those killed by war or slavery in history can be traced
to Islam; and this is just a cursory examination!" (The Greatest Murder
Machine in History). So between Black Horse of Roman Catholicism and the
Green Horse of Islam, at least 300 million people have been put to death during
the last 2,000 years by the forces of Satan!

A Quarter of
the Earth

The spirit of the
Green Horse is described as having power over the fourth part of the earth. How
does this square with today's population demographics? Estimates of the
followers of Islam by country -- based on U.S. State Department figures -- yield
a total of 1.48 billion (Wikipedia Encyclopedia). This would be
exactly one-fourth of the world's population. Another source states: "A
comprehensive 2009 demographic study of 232 countries and territories reported
that 23% of the global population, or 1.57 billion people, are Muslims. Of
those, it's estimated over 75–90% are Sunni and 10-20% are Shi'a, with
a small minority belonging to other sects. Approximately 50 countries are Muslim-majority, and Arabs account for around 20% of all Muslims worldwide. Between
1900 and 1970 the global Muslim community grew from 200 million to 551 million; between
1970 and 2009 the Muslim population increased more than three times to
1.57 billion."

The
Sword

Satan
has used various destructive agencies, not the least was the sword. John 6:8
says that the people of the Green Horse are to kill with the sword. It has been
a long tradition within Islam to kill with the sword for centuries -- even in
these modern times. When they behead infidels, it is with the sword. And, as
we have seen, the symbol of the crossed swords is on many of their flags. The
Greek word for sword in John 6:8 actually means "long sword,"
which eliminates the armies of Rome as being the source of this prophecy. The
legions of Rome carried the short sword -- and were famous for their competency
in the use thereof. On the other hand, the forces of Islam carried the long
sword, enabling them to kill their adversaries from horseback. All the historical
references agree that the forces of Islam carried the long sword.

To kill with
HUNGER -- many of the governments and leaders of the Islamic nations in the
Middle East and Africa purposely oppress their people in poverty and hoard the
wealth to themselves hence, killing with hunger and death. Islamic countries
are known for the proliferation of violence, poverty and disease.

Recently
Mohammad Abbaspour, a member of Iran's Majlis (parliament), said that at least
90 percent of his country's population is under the poverty line: "90 percent
of the population are living under the poverty line and only ten percent of
the people have access to social services provided by the government".
He stated this in an interview with a hard-line state-run news agency. "The
Ministry of Housing has built many accommodations but we must ask this ministry,
how many of these constructions built are housing poor people", the Majlis
deputy from Urumiyeh (northwest Iran) said. Abbaspour warned that Iran was becoming
a country with vastly separated social classes: "In the past 25 years…we
have witnessed immense pressures in society, indicating social injustice. This
phenomenon has led to the rise of social ills such as homeless tramps, higher
divorce rates, poverty, and prostitution. Abbaspour, a member of the Majlis
Social Affairs Committee, blamed the government for turning a blind eye to pervasive
corruption in Iran. These same problems can be found in many of the Islamic
nations.

Beast of the Earth

The word "beasts" in
Revelation 6:8 is actually in the singular in the Greek, so the phrase should
read "Beast [singular]
of the earth” -- see A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament
by W. C. Taylor, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, etc.

Keeping in mind the axiom that we should let the Bible
interpret the Bible we find mentioned, in Revelation 13, a "beast coming up out
of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon" (13:11).
What is this referring to, what is this "beast" coming out of the earth
or ground?

Earlier, in Revelation chapter 9, John saw an army
of locusts come out of the smoke that issued out of the bottomless pit. So, what
was John talking about when he described the army of locusts? Christians of the
past, who knew history better than most of us do, saw this army of locusts as a
prophecy of the rise and spread of Islam.

Let's take a look at the abyss or bottomless pit. It
should be noted that the "abyss" appears as the abode of demons in the New
Testament -- the source of the evil spiritual agencies that exercise their
influence upon men. This is made evident, for example, in Luke 8:31 where the
desire of the wicked spirits whom Yeshua cast out of the man dwelling in the
tombs is that he should not command them to depart into theabyss.
Notice --

"They begged Yeshua not to order them to go off
into the Bottomless Pit (abyss)."

According to Howard B. Rand --

"The Bottomless Pit, or Abyss, symbolically represents the abode
of darkness and evil, the antipathy of heaven, the source of light and power.
From this abode of darkness and evil COMES A MONSTER that is able to accomplish
whatPapal Rome was never able to
do....The king over the Saracens is called Apollyon (meaningdestruction,
destroyer) and is the angel of the Bottomless Pit. Thus again Mohammedanism
[Islam] is identified with the Saracens who compelled men to accept the
authority of the Caliphate or suffer destruction..." (A Study in
Revelation, p. 136,
93).

The term "bottomless pit" also denotes the place
from whence Islam thrust itself upon the world of the time. This term comes from
the Greek wordabussos, and
signifies a waste, desolate region. A brief sketch of Arabia makes plain the
significance and aptness of the term as applied to that country.

Arabia is about fifteen hundred miles in extreme
length; is about half this distance in width at the middle; but its extreme
width on the Indian Ocean is a thousand miles. Writes Gibbon:

"The entire surface of the peninsula exceeds in
a fourfold proportion that of Germany or France; but the far greater part
has been justly stigmatized with the epithets of the stony and the sandy.
Even the wilds of Tartary are decked, by the hand of nature, with lofty
trees and luxuriant herbage; and the lonely traveler derives a sort of
comfort and society from the presence of vegetable life. But in the dreary
waste of Arabia, a boundless level of sand is intersected by sharp and naked
mountains; and the face of the desert, without shade or shelter, is scorched
by the direct and intense rays of the tropical sun. Instead of refreshing
breezes, the winds, particularly from the southwest,diffuse
a noxious vapor; the hillocks of sand which they alternately raise and
scatter, are compared to the billows of the ocean, and whole caravans, whole
armies, have been lost and buried in the whirlwind. The common benefits of
water are an object of desire and contest; and such is the scarcity of wood,
that some art is requisite to preserve and propagate the element of fire."

Gibbon continues --

"Arabia is destitute of navigable rivers, which
fertilize the soil, and convey its produce to the adjacent regions; the
torrents that fall from the hills are imbibed by the thirsty earth; the rare
and hardy plants, the tamarind or the acacia, that strike their roots into
the clefts of the rocks, are nourished by the dews of the night; a scanty
supply of rain is collected in cisterns and aqueducts; the wells and springs
are the secret treasure of the desert; and the pilgrim of Mecca, after many
a dry and sultry march, is disgusted by the taste of the waters, which have
rolled over a bed of sulphur or salt. Such is the general and genuine
picture of the climate of Arabia" (The Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire, chapter L, par. 2).

Alexander Keith, inSigns
of the Times, relates:

"Like the noxious and even deadly vapours which
the winds, particularly from the southwest, diffuse in Arabia, Mahometanism
spread from hence to its pestilential influence -- arose as suddenly and
spread as widely as smoke arising out of the pit, the smoke of a great
furnace. Such is a suitable symbol of the religion of Mahomet, of itself, or
as compared with the pure light of the gospel of Jesus. It was not, like the
latter, a light from heaven, but a smoke out of the bottomless pit" (Vol. I,
p. 299).

The army of locusts came forth from a dark cloud of
smoke that rolled out ofthe bottomless pit. The "bottomless pit" in
Greek is abussos, the source of our English word abyss. Some English
Bibles simply translate it "the abyss." It is remarkable that Abul A'la Mawdudi,
one of Islam's most prominent scholars of the20th century, used the very
word abyss whenwriting about the beginnings of Islam. In a book
written to introduce English-speaking people to the basics of Islam, Mawdudi
tells his readers that Muhammad and his message came out of "Arabia -- the
Abyss of Darkness." These are his exact words, and they appear in bold print
as a sub-heading in his book. It is no mere coincidence that this outstanding
Islamic author unwittingly identified Islam's source, in bold print no less, as
"the Abyss of Darkness," using the very same word that appears in Revelation.

Why an army of locusts to represent an army of
Arabs? About 900 years before John's Revelation, the Prophet Joel had
symbolically described an invading, attacking army as a swarm of locusts. Any
large, invading army might be compared to a swarm of locusts, but the Arabs and
Muhammad have a unique connection to the locust: "In the Bedoween romance Antar,
the locust is introduced as the national emblem of the Ishmaelites (one of the
ancestors of the Arabs). And it is a remarkable coincidence that Muslim
tradition speaks of locusts having dropped into the hands of Muhammad, bearing
on their wings this inscription -- 'We are the army of the Great God."'

As we saw a Muslim writer unwittingly connect
Islam's beginnings to the Abyss, here we see Muslim writers unwittingly connect
Islam to the locusts that come from the Abyss.

In Revelation 13:11 we read --

"Then I saw another beast
coming up out of the earth [abyss]; and HE HAD TWO HORNS like a lamb and
spoke like a dragon."

What is this two-horned governing beast? Among the
6,666 verses of the Qur'an (Koran) -- the sacred
book of Islam -- are found the words "Dhul-Qarnayn," which literally mean "He of
the two horns." This is found in verses 18:83 to 18:98. It tells the story of
the two-horned one who will take the religion of Islam from the East to the
people of the utmost West. It will then be determined by the two-horned one
whether to show kindness to the people or to punish them -- depending on whether
or not they will accept Islam.

We also know that the great symbol of Islam is the
crescent moon with two sharp horns. Has the two-horned beast risen up from
the earth in the Western nations, including the United States? It is a dark,
Satanic religion that demands the death of all who will not convert to it. It is
a religion of fierce cruelty that also has another symbol -- the scimitar or
curved sword. It is a religion of beheading, terrorism and bloody torture.

The most fundamental article
of faith in Islam is a belief in strict
monotheism (tawhid).
The opposite of tawhid is known as shirk, or associating partners
with Allah. This is often translated as polytheism.Shirk is
the one unforgivable sin in
Islam, if one dies in this state. Associating a partner or others with Allah is
a rejection of Islam and takes one outside the faith. The Qur'an says:

"Verily, Allah forgives not the sin of setting up partners in worship with
Him, but He forgives whom He wills sins other than that. And whoever sets up
partners in worship with Allah, has indeed strayed far from the
path" (4:116).

The "people of Shirk" in the passage above are,
therefore, the people of those who support polytheism -- in other words
mainstream paganized "Christianity" that is prevalent today.

Zechariah 6

In Zechariah 6 we
find the origin or prototype of the four horses of Revelation -- notice!

"Then I turned and
Raised my eyes and looked, and behold four chariots were coming from between two
mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. With the first chariot
were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot
white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses -- strong steeds.
Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, 'What are these,
my lord?' And the angel answered and said to me, 'These are four spirits of
heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth. The
one with the black horses is going to the NORTH COUNTRY, the white
are going AFTER THEM, and the dappled are going toward the SOUTH
COUNTRY.' Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might walk
to and fro throughout the earth...And He called to me, and spoke to me,
saying, 'See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to My
spirit in the north country." (Zechariah 6:

In the reference
above the fourth horse is called "dappled. "Dappled" is not a color, but a
texture (spotted or splotched). The Hebrew word that is translated "dappled"
here is not used anywhere else in the Bible. It is an uncertain term that
more accurately means "strong or courageous." Therefore, when we combine
what we know about the fourth horse from both Zechariah and Revelation, we see a
"strong, courageous green" horse. The universally identifiable color of Islam is
green. Look at virtually anything that has to do with Islam and you will see
GREEN -- and it is definitely STRONG, COURAGEOUS!

It is interesting
to note that the Red Horse is not mentioned going to any particular country -- which is
consistent with what we learned about the Red Horse of Revelation 6! The White
and Black horses went north, and eventually north-west, which is where true
Christianity, followed by the false "Christianity" of Catholicism, went. The
passage then says that the fourth horse went into the south country. This, too,
is amazingly accurate since over 96.5% of the world's Muslims live in Africa and
southern Asia -- and Islam's capital, Mecca, is south of Israel.

Egypt's Green
Horse

The following article is found on
http://www.wnd.com and refers to an event that
occurred on Friday, February 4, 2011 at Tahrir Square in Cairo during the
Egyptian demonstrations:

"A mysterious, pale
green figure seen in televised news coverage of the Egyptian riots has
prompted some viewers to ask, “Could this be the Fourth Horseman of the
Apocalypse?”

"The footage, provided by
Euronews and subsequently seen on MSNBC,
CNN and uploaded over a dozen times to the popular video sharing
site YouTube, captures the fiery, violent protests in Cairo
this past week … and something else.

"Between the crowds of
protesters and barricades, the video shows a flowing, pale green image
that resembles an erect rider atop a horse in Medieval-like barding. The
ethereal figure remains for a few moments before floating over protesters’
heads and off the screen.

"The last of the biblical
Book of Revelation’s Four Horseman of the Apocalyse, the “pale rider” is
said to be the bringer of death and the forerunner of “hell” on earth.

"The Book of Revelation
refers to a time when “the Lamb” -- usually understood to
be the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ -- opens the seven seals
of a scroll of judgment. Each of the first four seals is accompanied by a
horseman of a different color, each bringing a separate calamity.

"When the fourth seal is
opened, Revelation 6:8 records, “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and
his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power
was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,
and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

"Is the image from Egypt a
fulfillment of Revelation’s prophecy?

"Comments from the tens of
thousands of viewers who have watched the video on YouTube
express a wide array of opinion.

"Some claim the video’s
“pale rider” is a sign and the greenish tint is somehow symbolic of Islam,
while others insist the image has been added to the footage by editing
technology. Still others point to three, trailing points
of light in the footage that move away from the crowds at the same time and
speed as the “horseman,” indicating that both the “rider” and the lights are
merely smudges or reflections cast on the lens of a moving camera.

"One comment, from a viewer
calling himself TheRhythmhawk, also tried to explain the “pale rider” and
the trailing lights as simply lens reflections, but eventually concluded,
“The image of the horseman leaves more questions than answers.”

I can not tell you if it is a quirk in the
camera, or a purposely done trick. Or even something supernatural in nature or
even perhaps man using a hologram. Perhaps it is Satan coming with his lying
signs or wonders. Perhaps it is what it appears to be. I cannot say. Whatever it
is, it is very convincing specter of a horse and rider. Strange indeed
when you consider all the information above!

Conclusion

The four living creatures, who are associated in a special way with YEHOVAH’s
purposes in the new creation, are definitely related to the action of the four
horses and their riders. This further confirms the fact that what YEHOVAH has
revealed to us here are the symbols of the four major spiritual agencies, whereby
the character of this age has been largely determined. The first and greatest
in its effect is the TRUE gospel (the WHITE Horse) -- through which YEHOVAH
God is acting upon the world directly through His Word and spirit. By
the other three the effects of the Messiah’s coming into the world act upon
it indirectly. For the strife and variance (the “sword”) which
he said he would send throughout the earth (the RED Horse), were provoked by
the true gospel, and have always and everywhere followed in its wake. Likewise
the powerful influence of the propagation of a commercialized and perverted
gospel by Satan’s campaign of venomous lies, murderous heresies, suppression
of the Scriptures and stirring up the hatred of governments against the true
gospel (the BLACK Horse), has led to the great harvest of the GREEN Horse of
DEATH and the GRAVE.

If you are at all observant you will realize that the color scheme of the horses
shows a progression downward, ending in darkness and death. This, of
course, is “according to the course of this world” (Ephesians 2:2). But YEHOVAH
God’s order reverses this. He finds us in a state of death and darkness,
and raises us up to the brilliant light of His Word, bringing us to the
time when YEHOVAH “will wipe away every tear” from our eyes, and to the time
when “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall
be no more pain, for the former thing have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). This
is the time when YEHOVAH God the Father Himself will once again dwell with His
people Israel,
“and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their
God” (21:3).

Satan has done a superlative job, for even today the very Churches of God
are thoroughly confused over the meaning of the Book of Revelation. Many believe
the White Horse and its rider represent false religion -- an interpretation
that is thoroughly refuted by the Bible. Others believe that with Bin
Laden and President Obama we have entered into the time of the Red Horse, while
others believe it represents coming wars that will precede the end of the age.
According to some the Black Horse represents famine or global inflation -- or
a connection with the black uniformed SS troops of Nazi Germany!! The majority
believe the Green Horse represents plague or pestilence -- but the original Greek
does not say that! The word translated “plague” in some versions of the Bible
is also translated “death” in others. Revelation 6:8 clearly defines the
Green
Horse by naming it “Death”! While plague or pestilence can certainly be the
outcome of persecution by those promoting false religion, this is NOT the main
thrust of the ride of the Green Horse. Only when you interpret scripture with
scripture can the TRUTH regarding the four horsemen of the Apocalypse
be revealed.

(Be sure to read the
articles on the other three horses of Revelation 6!)

Hope of Israel
Ministries -- Preparing the Way for the Return of YEHOVAH God
and His Messiah to Set Up the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God Here On This
Earth!